They didn’t go over the river or through the woods at Thanksgiving, those folks at Dos Gringos, and they had to scramble for sunflowers on the way to grandma’s house. Unseasonably hot days in mid-September in the San Diego area led to torrid soil and air temperatures that “burned the sunflower seeds in the ground” and led to serious flower shortages for Thanksgiving, according to Jason Levin, president of the grower and bouquet-maker in Vista, CA.

Tanimura & Antle Inc. announced donations to two North American organizations that offer healthy school lunch programs. As a result, Let's Move Salad Bars to Schools will be able to place new salad bars in five schools in the United States, and the Canadian Produce Marketing Association can give the Freggie Friday In-School Program curriculum to 10 elementary schools in Canada.

BrightFarms Inc., located in New York City, announced the completion of a $4.3-million series-A equity-financing round. The round was led by NGEN Partners and included investments from Emil Capital Partners and BrightFarms founder Ted Caplow.

While globalization opens a world of opportunity to today's produce sector, added complexities and demands also leave companies and their brand reputations open to greater risks. Naturally, these challenges fall to top executives for clarification.

Celebrity chef and lifestyle expert Ingrid Hoffmann, host of "Delicioso" on Telefutura and "Simply Delicioso" on The Cooking Channel as well as spokesperson for the Chilean Avocado Importers Association, was recently the featured guest of a holiday-themed satellite media tour. To date, the first-time event has generated 124 television and 21 radio segments -- including Spanish-language media -- and reached a total audience of nearly 4 million.